


The Third Wedding

by Emmeebee



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Introspection, One-Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-25 20:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16204643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emmeebee/pseuds/Emmeebee
Summary: Sansa’s third wedding takes place a few nights before the Eyrie receives the raven that the Night King has fallen and peace has been secured.





	The Third Wedding

Sansa’s third wedding takes place a few nights before the Eyrie receives the raven that the Night King has fallen and peace has been secured. Quiet, rushed, and held in a godswood with no weirwood tree, it is a far cry from what she dreamed of as a child. The only reminder of home is the biting cold and the thick layer of snow coating the ground, but then that is everywhere now. If she were to look down from one of the castle’s windows, she would see nothing except the colours white and blue stretching out in all directions.

As she walks down the aisle with Bran at her side, surrounded only by noble ladies, lords who are too old or young to fight, and the small retinue that remained at the Eyrie for their protection, she is painfully aware of the lack of Stark bannermen. They will feel slighted when they hear the news, no doubt. Passing over their sons and nephews for a Greyjoy, especially one with such a complicated history with Winterfell, will be seen as an affront to their pride. And it will only grow worse if they ever discover the extent of the torture Theon underwent at Ramsey’s hands. Fortunately, everyone who knows is either dead or has enough to gain from the alliance that they have no reason to talk. The harsh winter has seen to that.

Nevertheless, she is content with her decision. She had the pomp with Tyrion and the weirwood tree with Ramsey, and if a hasty and risky ceremony is the price she must pay for a safe marriage, she is more than willing to do so. As war turns to peace, there will be alliances to make and rewards to give and holds to redistribute. As unwed highborn ladies, Sansa and Arya are poised to be a significant part of that. Jon would never force them to marry, she knows that, but it would not be his decision to make. It would be the dragon queen's. And while Sansa has grown to respect the woman as a conqueror, the Targaryen has yet to demonstrate the type of leader she intends to be; after all, she allies herself with the Dothraki, and Sansa has heard of their vile ways. Jon should be able to convince her to legitimise Gendry and let Arya marry him, securing the allegiance of the Stormlands, but Sansa does not have any such highborn suitor to rally for.

And she refuses to be married to a stranger for a third time. Thus, as much as she regrets doing this while Jon and Arya are still at war and could even be dying, the safest option is to already be wed when Daenerys returns.

With Theon, at least, Sansa knows what to expect. It isn't a love match, and it is a step down for her in terms of social status, but they have a connection and she knows he won't hurt her. There will be no consummation, no abuse, no mind games, no threats; she will be safe. That gives them more of a foundation than most. And while Theon will be unable to give her children, she has seen the way Jon looks at Daenerys and Arya looks at Gendry; between the two couples, they are likely to have heirs before long, so she needn’t worry about that.

The queen will not like it; Sansa knows that. But she has learned from her time with Littlefinger, and she knows how to feign devotion. She and Theon will spin a tale of star-crossed love, of being separated by her youthful fancies and his foolish mistakes before finally being reunited in the worst manner possible and slowly finding their way back to one another. That, she will claim, is why she requested that he be among the retinue stationed at the Eyrie – so she can be by his side for as long as they have left. And that, she will claim, is why they have rashly decided, with no end to the fighting in sight, that if they are going to die, they might as well die as husband and wife.

Anyone who knows them well will see the lie, but there are so few of them left in the world that she is not worried.

Besides, even if Daenerys sees through their deception, Jon and Yara will stay her hand. Jon is loyal to a fault, and Yara will not want to see her brother killed, especially for something that is to the benefit of the Iron Islands. They will not allow the queen to harm them if she wishes to retain the North’s allegiance.

There is, as always, the chance that it will not work. Their cover might slip, or Tyrion might claim that they consummated their marriage after all – it has been annulled, but the only proof of that is a maester who had ulterior motives at the time – or Arya might be mad enough at Sansa for marrying Theon that she reveals what Ramsey did to him. But one of the many lessons Littlefinger gave her was the importance of taking calculated risks.

And the risks pale in comparison to what she has to lose if she does nothing.

It’s her third marriage, and it’s the first one Sansa enters into without fear or trepidation. As she and Theon speak the words and sink to their knees in the garden that only the most charitable of souls would call a godswood, she hopes that this one will last.


End file.
